Cultural Autobiography

Cultural Autobiography
Hannah Meyer
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Race and Ethnicity
When I was in kindergarten we lived in Massachusetts in a fairly low socioeconomic
neighborhood. I didn't really realize it at the time but I was the only white female in my
kindergarten class. When we moved to Nebraska the next year I was enrolled in a 1st grade class
in which there was only white students. At the end of the school year I remember pulling out my
kindergarten picture to compare it with my class picture from 1st grade. Looking at it with fresh
eyes, I realized that I was the only white female in my Kindergarten picture.
Gender
When I was little, my sister and I would always have matching dresses that my mom had made
us. Mine would always be purple while my sisters would always be pink. It was just kind of
understood that girls wore dresses and girls liked purple and pink things. I was always in a purple
dress therefore I was a girl.
Sexual Orientation
There has never been a time when I questioned my heterosexuality. Even when I was young I
don’t recall a singular moment when I realized I was attracted to males. I feel like the attraction
slowly intensified as I grew over time.
Social Class
My mom and I always went weekly grocery shopping when I was young. We would cut all our
coupons out ahead of time and have a list of items we needed that matched with the coupons. My
mom would carry a calculator around the store and add up what our total should be as we went
through the store. If we reached our budget before we had everything the rest would “wait until
next week”. I thought this is how all families shopped until I went to the grocery store with a
friend and asked if I could hold the coupons. (It was always my job to hold the coupons.) I
quickly found out that there were no coupons to hold and not every mom had a calculator in her
purse.
Ableness
In 1st grade we divided up into different groups for Guided Reading class. I don’t really
remember taking a test or what criteria was used for placing me in Mrs. Hansen’s group but I do
remember thinking that we were a different group. We would read longer books with less
pictures than my friends in the other groups were reading. We would read silently, by ourselves
while other groups sat in a circle and read aloud. I just thought of it as different until one of my
classmates who was in a different reading group than me told me to “go play with the other
smartypants” while at recess one day.
Faith
I honestly can’t think of a time I was not aware of my faith. From 1st to 12th grade I was always
in Lutheran schools. I had religion class every day and went to church twice a week. It has
always been a part of my life and who I am.
Reflection:
• What is your value for people different from you or like you?
I have always believed that all people have value and are worthy of respect. However,
working at Goodrich has really brought this to my attention. The more I work at
Goodrich and get to know the cultures that are represented there the more I value them
and the people that are a part of them. Knowing individuals that are a part of a certain
culture helps me get past stereotypes and generalizations.
• What beliefs do you have about those who are like or different from
you?
When I encounter individuals that have some aspect of themselves that is different from
me, I think of all the different experiences they must have had in their lives.
• What customs are emerging in how you respond to those different

from or like you?
The majority of people that I meet that have a lot of differences from me are my students
and their families. I tend to ask them a lot of questions about their cultures and encourage
them to share out their different experiences with me and their classmates.
• What cross-cultural traditions, if any, endure in your life? If none,

why do you think that to be?
I don’t really have a lot of traditions in my family and I can’t think of any cross-cultural
ones that I celebrate at home. I think it stems from my immediate family being very close
but my extended family is not. We don’t focus on or put much weight in traditions.
However, at school I always try to acknowledge any holiday and/or traditions that my
students celebrate. Sometimes I will have students explain to me and/or the class about
their traditions/holidays, other times students just want to have it announced and
acknowledged in class.
• What is your view of language you speak and the language spoken by
others?
Language has always been something that I have been interested in. I think, when it
comes down to it, the language(s) we use are those that we think will help us connect
with the people around us. Any language that we use is trying to convey a message to
someone else. Most of my students are multilingual. I hear many different languages in
my classroom and the hallways on a daily basis.
• How do you view the world - as the small space around you; or larger
and more encompassing; or somewhere in between those extremes? How do you
know?
I think it is a bit of both. I honestly think it depends what I have my focus on. If I am
focused on just myself and my problems the world is small to me in that moment because
I am focusing on just a very small piece of it. However, if I am talking to others and
listening to their thoughts and experiences my world becomes much larger to include not
only my experiences, but theirs as well.
• What assumptions do you make about those who are different from
you?
I assume that they have had different experiences or grew up in a different environment
than I did.

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Cultural Autobiography

• What customs are emerging in how you respond to those different

• What cross-cultural traditions, if any, endure in your life? If none,

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